History 17B: The United States from Reconstruction to the Present

Welcome! 

History 17B: The United States from Reconstruction to the Present  continues the story of the struggle of the United States after the end of the Civil War.  Starting with the successes and failures of the Reconstruction Era we follow the efforts of the United States to live up its ideals of liberty, equality, and freedom for all. Readings will begin with the development of the New South and the Trans-Mississippi West after the Civil War. Then continues with the strains that industrialization and urbanization placed on the political system and the social order; the arrival of the US as a world power and its internal debate over colonial imperialism; the role of World War I and Woodrow Wilson's international idealism that led to a successful United Nations; the international economic catastrophe of the Great Depression and even more destructive World War II; the role of the United States in the Cold War; and the increasing role of conservative ideology in national politics and policies.  All the while demands for greater civil rights and personal liberties were on the rise. It is an imperfect story of struggle and triumph, great moral failures, and high ideals. The United States will need to continue to engage these struggles if we are to resolve the current issues facing the nation and the world today. This course will help students practice the critical thinking skills necessary to serve as citizens of the world, leading the way to a better future. 

How to Enroll

Enrolling Before Class Begins

For both online and in-person courses: If you would like to take this course, and there are still available seats, register for this class online. If the class is full but there are seats available on the waitlist, put your name on the waitlist. Waitlisted students will receive first priority to add the class as seats become available. If the waitlist is full, students need to find an alternate section of the course. 

Enrolling After the First Day of Class

For an online course: If you would like to take this course and the course has already started, you need to request an authorization online. After you request an authorization online, I will receive a notification of your request and either approve it or deny it depending on the number of students already enrolled. If I approve your request, you will receive an email in your CCSF student email. This email will provide instructions for how to add the class online. You will then be enrolled.  All students who add the course after the first day of class will be expected to immediately catch up on all coursework already assigned. 

For an in-person class: Come to class on the first day to see if there is room. Student adds will be prioritized by registration date. 

Important Dates

Are published in the online class schedule. They can also be found in the Syllabus. 

Policies for Online Courses

This course is completed entirely online with no required in-person meetings. Please check all important course dates in the official online class schedule. These dates include the first day of class, the last day to drop with a refund, the last day to drop with a W, the date of the final.  

Attendance, Participation, and Getting Dropped from the Course Policy 

This course is a three (3) unit lecture course. According to federal requirements, three (3) unit lecture courses require fifty-two (52) total hours of lecture and one hundred four (104) hours of homework to earn credit for the course. That is a total of one hundred fifty-six (156) hours expected to complete this course. In the Social Sciences Department, any student who misses more than six (6) hours of “lecture” may be dropped by the instructor. In an online course attendance and participation are the same thing. Both are required. In this course, participation is measured by turning in assignments. These are the participation rules: 

Module One must be completed within 72 hours of the start of class. 

This course is very popular and fills before the first day of class. There is a waitlist of students who also need the course for graduation. All students must complete all three Module One assignments within seventy-two (72) hours or they can be dropped as a “No Show” and their spot will be given to another student. Students added to the course after the first day have seventy-two (72) hours from gaining access to Canvas to complete all assignments in the first module. 

Weekly assignments count as participation. 

Each individual quiz, required written assignment, required discussion, or midterm counts as one (1) hour of class attendance. If you miss a combined total of six (6) or more quizzes, required assignments, or exams they will be counted as absences and you may be dropped for nonparticipation. Assignments labeled “extra credit” are not counted in this calculation, unless they are plagiarized. 

Plagiarized assignments, whether required or extra credit, count as an absence. 

If you plagiarize an assignment or cheat on a quiz or exam, whether required or extra credit, it will be scored as a zero, a report will be filed with Student Services, and it will count as an absence (since you did not do the work yourself).

Yes, all your assignments will be checked for plagiarism.

My apologies. The vast majority of students in my classes are doing their own work. I only have to say this so that the policy can be used to enforce the Student Code of Conduct for the very few students who do cheat: If your written response has a greater than ten percent (10%) similarity report, it will be considered plagiarized. You can view your plagiarism report by submitting your assignment, then going to Assignments. Next to the assignment there is a flag. Click on the flag to see your similarity report. If you are caught using an online essay generator for an assignment, it will be counted as plagiarized. If you copy your peer’s written responses and then edit them into your own response, it will be counted as plagiarized. If you are caught not taking the quizzes or exams on your own, it will be counted as plagiarized. The best thing to do in this course is to not use outside resources (the internet, other classmates, other friends and family) to complete your assignments. Do your own thinking. Follow the assignment instructions. 

Any student with six (6) or more absences may be dropped from the course for non-participation. 

Required Text and Materials

All required reading materials for this course are provided free online in Canvas.

Please see the syllabus for further details. 

Policies for In-Person Courses

Attendance, Participation, and Getting Dropped from the Course Policy 

This course is a three (3) unit lecture course. According to federal requirements, three (3) unit lecture courses require fifty-two (52) total hours of lecture and one hundred four (104) hours of homework to earn credit for the course. That is a total of one hundred fifty-six (156) hours expected to complete this course. In the Social Sciences Department, any student who misses more than six (6) hours of “lecture” may be dropped by the instructor. 

This is a lecture-based course. Students are expected to attend class each week, prepare for class by completing the assigned readings, actively take notes in-class during lecture, participate in class discussions of primary sources, and complete midterms and finals. 

Required Text and Materials

All required reading materials for this course are provided free online in Canvas.

It is recommended that you purchase a Composition Notebook dedicated to notes for this course. 

Please see the Syllabus for additional details.

Course Syllabi